Inmate alleges he was put in segregation over his lawsuit against jail

Michael Wiwczaruk, an inmate with mental health issues, is accusing the ministry of locking him away in a segregation cell for more than a week because of his lawsuit against the jail.Handout Photo / Ottawa Citizen

An inmate with mental health issues who is suing the province over the treatment he allegedly received in Ottawa’s jail is now accusing the ministry of locking him away in a segregation cell for more than a week because of his lawsuit.

Ontario’s ministry of community safety and correctional services insists Michael Wiwczaruk’s eight days in segregation had nothing to do with the legal action, although it has admitted to transferring him out of the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre and to another jail over safety concerns stemming from his lawsuit.

Wiwczaruk’s allegations come as the province is under increasing scrutiny over its use of segregation.

Wiwczaruk went into segregation after arriving at the Ottawa jail on Sept. 21 on a break-and-enter charge.

According to Wiwczaruk’s lawyer, Paul Champ, it wasn’t until Wiwczaruk’s third day in the segregation cell — after he repeatedly demanded an explanation as to why he was being held in solitary — that a correctional officer told him it was because he was suspected of carrying contraband, even though he had passed through the jail’s body scanner seemingly without a problem.

Champ said Wiwczaruk continued to protest, and another correctional officer allegedly told Wiwczaruk later in the day he should “know why” he was in segregation, and that he was placed there “because there are allegations against us” and he “can’t go anywhere.”

It wasn’t until several days later — and after a lawyer from Champ’s office wrote the ministry demanding an explanation — that a senior female staff member allegedly visited Wiwczaruk and told him the body scanner wasn’t working properly when he arrived, which is why it was a possible positive and they had to leave him in segregation. She also told him they had concerns about security over the allegations in his lawsuit and would transfer him to the jail in Brockville, according to Champ.

Wiwczaruk is currently suing the province after he alleged he suffered a beating at the hands of correctional officers in May 2014 after spitting at one of them and refusing to follow orders. The lawsuit was filed after the jail’s then-superintendent, Maureen Harvey, sent Wiwczaruk a memo in September 2014 saying his complaint about the use of excessive force had been substantiated.

None of the allegations in the lawsuit has been proven in court. A ministry spokesman had told the Citizen it would be inappropriate to comment on both a civil case that was still before the court and internal personnel matters on whether any correctional officers were disciplined for the alleged use of excessive force.

Wiwczaruk, 28, suffers from a psychiatric disorder, antisocial personality disorder and ADHD, and has spent time at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and a specialized jail for offenders with mental health issues, according to his statement of claim.

In a letter on Sept. 30, a ministry lawyer would only say Wiwczaruk was segregated because he tested positive for possible contraband concealment. The letter, written by ministry lawyer Sunil Mathai, said Wiwczaruk was advised of the reason for the segregation and transferred because of “security concerns.”

A second letter sent four days later provided more detail.

“When an inmate presents as possibly concealing contraband, he cannot be housed in a living unit, as the presence of contraband presents safety and security risks to the institution and the inmates,” read a letter written by another ministry lawyer, Amal Chaudry. “Further, Mr. Wiwczaruk has a lawsuit pending against a number of unnamed correctional officers at OCDC. For the safety of Mr. Wiwczaruk, other inmates and staff, it was determined that he should be transferred elsewhere. The process to have him transferred to an institution where he can safely be housed in a general population unit began promptly.”

Champ said the ministry’s version of why Wiwczaruk was in segregation just doesn’t add up.

Unlike other inmates who are suspected of carrying contraband, Champ said Wiwczaruk wasn’t placed in a cell where the water is shut off, otherwise known as a “dry cell.” Wiwczaruk went into a regular segregation cell instead.

“If you come in and you test positive for contraband in some way, they put you in a dry cell and do a bed pan vigil,” said Champ. “He’s experienced that before. You are in a room without any water. They put you in a room and they turn off the water so you can’t get rid of anything you are carrying, and they didn’t do that.”

Champ also questioned why Wiwczaruk was held in segregation for more than a week, when whatever they suspected him of carrying should have passed within a few days. No contraband was ever found, according to Champ.

The ministry declined to answer questions about the segregation and transfer, citing the ongoing lawsuit.

“They really have no valid grounds whatsoever to put him in segregation. It highlights how casually they use segregation — quote-unquote administrative segregation — to deal with any inmate they feel is irritating them or simply don’t like,” alleged Champ.

Wiwczaruk’s stay in segregation came three weeks before the minister responsible for Ontario jails cut limits on how long inmates could be placed in segregation for disciplinary reasons and vowed the controversial practice would only be used as a last resort.

However, ministry statistics released by the Ontario Human Rights Commission show that less than five per cent of all segregation placements are for disciplinary reasons. More than two-thirds, or 68 per cent, of all placements were for administrative segregation, which includes inmates with mental health issues, those who ask to be placed there or are segregated for the safety and security of the institution.

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